UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Dec. 12

LONDON Dec 12 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening
65 to 72 points lower, or down as much as 1.1 percent, on Friday, according to
financial bookmakers. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please
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* Britain's water regulator Ofwat has cut the return it will allow the
country's water suppliers to make over the coming five years as it announced the
final tariffs the companies can charge customers until the end of the decade.

* Annuity mis-selling may be a scandal on the scale of payment protection
insurance (PPI), the Daily Telegraph newspaper said.

* Commodity stocks will be in focus after Brent crude continued its march
downwards and dropped to a 5-1/2-year low of $63 a barrel, bringing this week's
losses to more than 8 percent amid persistent concerns over a global supply glut
and a bearish demand outlook.

* China's economy showed further signs of fatigue in November, with factory
output rising 7.2 percent in November from a year earlier, slowing from
October's 7.7 percent. It missed analysts' forecasts of 7.5 percent and marked
the second lowest expansion since the depths of the global crisis in December
2008.

* SONGBIRD ESTATES - Songbird, the subject of a 2.6 billion pound
($4 billion) hostile takeover bid from a Qatari-led group, said it was too early
to speculate on the intentions of the majority of its shareholders.

* BHP BILLITON - The iron ore giant expects Chinese steel
consumption growth to slow next year and has already adjusted its strategy to
cope with a supply glut that has caused global prices to collapse, executives
said on Thursday.

* BELLWAY - The company said its operating margin is expected to be
around 20 percent for the current financial year.
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